There is no doubt a mixture of generations is required for our House of Representatives to epitomise not only the different generations of voters, but also to healthily combine experience, history and established practices with new ideas, methods, fervour and innovation. The combination has often worked as a cross-party bridge providing eventual access to agreements and a better attitude on the part of our representatives of whichever ideology.
As a general election looms, it is obvious that the battle of the generations will take place in all of the constituencies, but it is rarely a finite thing. Obviously, voters tend to choose according to their age brackets and an almost natural balance is often the result. Can this forthcoming general election provide a different scenario? Possibly. Especially on the Opposition side, this seems to be an election destined for what many party supporters see as a much-desired shift to a new generation of young, up-and-coming politicians who most certainly fail to feel loved by those whose seats they threaten.
The Labour Party, as is often the tendency of progressive parties and movements on the Left, has always been a Party willing to propose new blood to its voters. This has been evident since way back in the 50s when several young lions, among them Dom Mintoff, Joe Micallef Stafrace and the first woman elected to the Maltese Parliament, Agatha Barbara, came into the political scene to take on the foreign rulers and their sympathizers within the Establishment. The trend did not stop there and many new faces were introduced during the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. Some of the older guard survive to this day both through merit and generational support.
Political developments since 2017, some of them pretty dramatic, have also helped Labour with a measured approach to generational swings, which are inevitable under a new leadership and a new administration. What acrimony there could have been turned into a determination to eventually let the voters decide. An automatically rejuvenated and invigorated party in power always has this privilege.
After two resounding defeats in the 2013 and 2017 general elections, the Nationalist Party still finds itself in the stranglehold of a powerful group of what can today be termed as “old-timers” led by even older insiders who sadly do not seem too inclined to bring about the necessary change that could give Malta a truly combative opposition and alternative government. There have been too many young hopefuls who have already thrown in the towel, alas, and given up trying to instil change, which amply reflects the resistance to reality by that same group of defeatists.
This next one will be a general election of hello goodbyes. Probably a lot more goodbyes than hellos than previously. It is that time in history, when the nation will again see to it that a successful combination is achieved, but not at the expense of the volte-face that Maltese politics urgently need.
Goose-and-gander quandary
Trust us minion nations to complain about being overlooked and ignored on the global playing-field, but we are then quickly mollified by nice little gestures that help us to grumpily accept our status. This applies to almost every aspect of life on earth, from politics and finances to investment programmes and sports.
Maltese football club Hibernians, of Paola, has just been fined €13,500 by UEFA for some ugly scenes that occurred at the end of their Europa Conference League match against Riga of Latvia, which was incredibly turned, by the officiating Irish referee, into a farce, costing the Paolites a historic play-off position in the competition.
The amount, plus some very tough suspensions to players and staff, may seem trivial to neutrals, but it is a hefty sum by Maltese footballing standards. OK, where am I going? Remember the 12 rich clubs involved in the attempted breakaway from UEFA last April to form an undemocratic, shamelessly egoistic European Super League? Much more serious than a few disappointed players and staff hurling angry words at an inefficient Irish referee, I guess.
You would have expected UEFA to stick to its guns, conscious of the world-wide support it got from fans and institutions, but no, these football giants have been let off and treated like frustrated prima ballerinas. Not only, debt-ridden Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus – the three remaining clubs still committed to the European Super League idea – will not face legal action while some legalistic warfare goes on, but the other nine clubs involved (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotpsur, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan), which had quickly and submissively withdrawn into their shells after the huge outcry, are now absolved from having to pay a combined amount of €22 million to go as a donation (God forbid use of the term fine) to grassroots and community projects.
What’s good for the goose is not good for the gander according to UEFA. Again it’s back to dealing differently with the minions. You pay, you obey, you should be thankful you are even accepted, we’ll help you with some astroturf pitches and just shut up.
My hello goodbye
This will be my last regular contribution to The Malta Independent on Sunday. I have been writing for it since its very inception when a young Daphne Caruana Galizia was Features editor, and as a columnist since I was unceremoniously booted out of PBS in 2004. A long but joyful journey for which I am indebted to several past and present key players in the paper’s influential outfit, among them Ray Bugeja, Noel Grima, David Lindsay, Stephen Calleja and Neil Camilleri.
There is just too big a load of creative work I still need to see to, so we’d probably meet on and off somewhere along the road.